RIVERSIDE: District seeks study of college prep

Only a small fraction of Riverside Unified School District students are ready for college, and educators want to know why.

The district’s Instructional Services Subcommittee called Wednesday, June 13, for the full school board to discuss a proposal to let Completion Counts pay for a study students’ college preparation and get recommendations on how to improve.

Jenny Hirst, instructional services specialist in secondary education, suggested that Education Trust — West study high school seniors’ transcripts. The Oakland-based consultancy and advocacy organization would work with staff and community groups to propose solutions to get more students ready for college or careers.

Only 36.2 percent of all students who graduated in the Class of 2010 had a "C-" or better in all the required courses needed for state university admissions, according to the latest data from the California Department of Education.

Last year, only 12 percent of 11th-graders were ready for college-level English and 10 percent were ready for college math, according to the latest results of the Early Assessment Program used by Cal State.

Although Riverside’s percentages on university prerequisites are higher than countywide averages, board member Kathy Allavie said she was surprised they were so low.

Completion Counts, an initiative funded by the Gates Foundation, would pay about $129,500 for the study and recommendations. The effort is part of a citywide goal to raise college graduation rates by 2020 to improve the local economy.

The district’s graduation task force has had the goal of increasing the numbers of students who take university prerequisites, lettered A-G, said chairwoman Tamara Kerr, assistant principal at Ramona High School.

Kerr and Hirst said they want to know if students are getting poor grades in a college prep class and why or if they are just not taking enough math, foreign languages or laboratory science classes. For instance, if they see the district doesn’t have enough science labs, Education Trust — West would recommend how to pay to build more labs or convert classrooms and how long it will take, Hirst said.